Two Predictions for 2011

The end of the world .... no.

How about a couple of positive predictions?

2011 preview: Expect Earth's twin planet

Earthlings will surely thrill at finding their planetary double:

Our calculation suggests the discovery could happen next year.

In 2010, one new exoplanet appeared every four days or so; by the end of the year, the total topped 500. But in September, a truly exceptional find punctuated this steady drumbeat of discovery: the first alien planet that could host life on its surface.

Gliese 581 g, spotted by a team led by Steven Vogt of the University of California, Santa Cruz, inhabits a "Goldilocks" zone around its host star, a band just warm enough to boast liquid water. At 3.1 to 4.3 times the mass of Earth, it is also small enough that it should be made mostly of rock. Although a second team of astronomers failed to find signs of Gliese 581 g in their data, if its existence is confirmed, it will be the most habitable exoplanet yet found.

ok well we all know about Gliese 581 g .. few threads on here before on that one, but what they are saying is the Mathematics shows that by 2011 we Will discover a planet just like ours.

In September, plotting the index of each planet against the date of its discovery and extrapolating the resulting curves predicted that an Earth-like planet would be found by May 2011. Two weeks later, such a planet - Gliese 581 g - was spotted although the detection is awaiting further confirmation. Now we've taken the same curves, adapted them to include Gliese 581 g's habitability index of 0.4, and come up with a fresh prediction.

Our figures suggest there is an 82 per cent chance that we will find a true doppelgänger for Earth by the close of 2011.

i am liking them odds 82%..

Link to Source NEW SCIENTIST LNIK

Ok now for the second prediction...

are you tired of trawling through fuzzy videos of things in orbit? claiming every ice crystal or piece of debris is a u.f.o?

well in 2011 we may know for sure ............

2011 preview: Private space flight takes off

PRIVATE companies have been promising for years that they can slash the cost of space travel, breaking the government monopoly on space flight and opening up the final frontier to the rest of us. At long last these efforts may be bearing fruit.

On 8 December, the California-based firm SpaceX launched its Dragon capsule into orbit and safely parachuted it into the ocean - the first time a private company has achieved the feat.

This coupled with Virgin galactic's efforts mean that by 2011 private space tourism (heavily loaned out to buisness to cover costs) will be a reality

At just 200k per ticket space will no longer be for the rich, big buisness or government bodies.

We can now haul our poor asses up there at take a look for ourselves with some real nice high def cams ....

then we should be able to answer .. are their lots of these critters zipping around our planet, or is thier just that much crap floating out there that we have left behind.

Tickets will only get cheaper as companies compete .

Several other companies, such as Boeing, have long-term plans to offer rides into space. But Virgin Galactic and SpaceX are likely to dominate headlines in the coming year, and may make 2011 the most exciting yet for private space flight.

Link to source NEW SCIENTIST LINK


so in a nutshell i predict based of scientific evidence that can be verified by other people ...

in 2011 we will.

clear up if the earths is constantly getting buzzed by E.T

and we will find another Earth ..

We are not as special as people think, its that kind of thinking that hold us back as a species.

HAPPY CHIRSTMAS ALL!!!!! and roll on 2011..


PEACE